A sealing strip for attachment to a window frame is known from EP 0 530 653 B1. This strip consists of a rigid channel with a U-shaped cross section and an elastically compressed foam strip arranged therein. The channel is closed off by a dimensionally stable cover strip, which is held in detachable, positively-engaging connection with the front region of the channel walls. The cover strip is connected in a banner-like manner to a limp strip element, which is guided over one edge of the cover strip and into the channel of the sealing strip. By pulling on the limp strip element, the cover strip can be detached from the channel, so that the compressed foam strip can expand. This design is extremely complicated.
A sealing tape which consists of a surface strip for attachment to a frame profile with a foam strip arranged on top of the surface strip is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,204, 373 to Davidson. The foam strip is covered by a sheet of paper or plastic, which is adhered to the surface strip and holds the foam strip in the compressed state. Rip cords, which can be used to tear open the sheet after the frame profile equipped with the sealing strip has been installed in the building structure, extend along the edge of the cover sheet.
A precompressed sealing tape is known from EP 1 131 525 B1. This tape consists of an elastically re-expandable foam strip of rectangular cross section, which, in the compressed state, is completely surrounded by a wrapping, which consists of a sheet of plastic. The plastic sheet forms a tear-off tab extending in the longitudinal direction of the sealing tape, in that the plastic sheet is bonded to itself to form a predetermined tear site. To hold the foam strip in place inside the pocket formed in this way, the bottom surface of the strip is bonded to the wrapping, and the bottom surface of the wrapping can in turn be attached to a frame profile by means of separate adhesive means, such as double-sided adhesive tape.
Sealing tape of this type is adhered to the frame profile to be sealed, and after the frame profile has been installed in the rough opening in the wall of the building, the wrapping is torn open so that the foam strip is able to re-expand elastically and thus seal off the frame profile against the wall. The disadvantage of such known sealing tapes, however, is that they can be produced only in relatively narrow widths, since, as a result of the recovery force of the precompressed sealing tape, they assume an oval-to-round shape within the wrapping. Such shape is unsuitable for installation as desired. Because of the continually increasing requirements on sealing in buildings, however, it is desirable to have the ability to provide precompressed sealing tapes of any desired width in order to achieve higher sealing values, especially better thermal insulation and better sound damping.